


Rebirth

by Semitura



Category: Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Bittersweet Ending, Dr. STONE Manga Spoilers, Gen, Men Crying, Not Beta Read, Reincarnation, right in the feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:47:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29242296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semitura/pseuds/Semitura
Summary: AU where Byakuya gets re-born as Chrome.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	1. Distant memories

**Author's Note:**

> Senku doesn't believe in re-incarnation, but that changes when he meets Chrome.

The scientist trio was exhausted. They had pinpointed the location of where the Medusa was fired 3700 years ago, but it took a lot of bubbles and a bunch of calculations that Senku had to explain so Chrome could understand them.

Xeno saw as Senku cleaned up the mess they made in the room. Chrome was ready peacefully snoring on the floor, after the math lesson Senku gave him. It was the perfect opportunity for Xeno to talk with Senku about _that_.

"Have you noticed... anything unusual about Chrome?" Xeno prompted. Senku turned around to Xeno, sighting when his mentor finished formulating the question.

"I need you to specify" Senku listened as Xeno began to speak.

* * *

The tunnel was blocked. This was bad. Thankfully, neither of them were trapped underneath the rocks, but they were in serious danger if they didn't get out of there soon. Xeno saw as the mysterious brunette looked all over the place.

He didn't know who he was, but he knew that he re-invented the drill, made a tunnel and reached him without Senku's help. He was born in this stone world, but he had a truly elegant mind.

"Don't worry Xeno, I'll get both of us out of here" the brunette didn't dare to turn and look at him as he worked his way out of the tunnel. When he finally made it to the surface, he offered a hand to pull Xeno out.

Xeno hesitated, but there was something in this kid's eyes. Something familiar, almost nostalgic. He mumbled as he took his hand and came out of the collapsed tunnel as well. He saw as the kid took the communication device and passed the news on the 'enemy's king' capture to Senku. And that's when Xeno noticed.

"Wait, I never told you my name"

"Huh? Oh, neither did I, I'm Chrome" was this kid trying to avoid the topic? He wasn't going to get away that easily.

"No, I didn't mean that. Earlier, in the tunnel...you said my name. But I never told you" Xeno insisted.

"I did?" Chrome looked confused and started to think about it. "Hmm...must have heard it from Senku, then." He concluded. But Xeno knew better.

* * *

"Because you never said my name in front of him." There was a pause after Xeno spoke. Senku knew this too, he knew that Chrome couldn't possibly know Xeno's name, but he did. How was that possible? It only fed up Senku's little theory. Xeno smirked.

"I know that look. You're not surprised, so it isn't the first time something like that has happened, right?" Xeno smirked. Senku hated how his mentor could read his mind.

"Heh, it happened three times already" Senku answered. Xeno sat down, ready to listen to whatever Senku had to say. Senku sat next to him and started to explain.

* * *

  
There were small details at first: the way he laughed, the way he slept, his love for science, how he was able to follow Senku with little science knowledge, how fast he learned, how he ended up re-inventing things... It was weird.

Senku started having doubts the day they made ramen.

"Could be worse" Senku admitted.

"I can't wait to eat actual ramen" Chrome added. That was strike one.

"What do you mean?" Kohaku asked

"Huh? Didn't Senku say ramen noodles were made with a different kind of flour? And that's why they were white and not green?" That was strike two. Senku looked at Chrome, dead serious. The sound of another voice broke the scene, as Gen made his arrival.

Senku could question his pupil later. _"How do you know what noodles used to look like?"_ , The scientist wondered in his mind.

* * *

  
The night Senku knew the truth about his father and the name of the village was a night he couldn't dare to forget.

After visiting his father's tomb, he went back to the science shed, where he was staying. Well, that was the plan before stumbling with Chrome, who was poorly hiding behind a tree.

"...what are you doing here?"

"Ah!" Chrome came out of his hiding spot "I...was too curious, don't worry! I stayed here and didn't listen anything, but I was worried about you two."

Senku sighted. Maybe he could question him now that they were alone.

"Have you been here before?"

"...yeah. I come here often. I knew the story of the founders being burrowed here" Chrome paused. There weren't easy words to say in this situation. Senku looked at Chrome. There was something in his eyes...sadness? No, something more. Regret? Sorrow?

"Can I tell you something weird?" Senku wondered what his lab partner had to share. He nodded. Chrome sat on the floor and Senku followed. This was going to be a long night, right?

"Before you came...Nah, I still do it. Whenever I feel lost, I climb to the top of the hill and sit down to the founder's tomb. I...I talk to him, trying to search for advice. I know it sounds SUPER weird, ok? But it always helps. I always keep him updated on everything we do, and...in some sort of way, I knew that you were his son before Ruri told us."

Senku stayed silent during the conversation. This was strike three, and everything in his mind began to click: how could Chrome know things he wasn't supposed to know? Why did he act like Byakuya? He didn't believe in that kind of stuff, but here he was, sitting right next to what could best be described as his father's re-incarnation.

"Can I tell you something weirder? I think he's not quite gone. That old man keeps bothering me even after being dead for 3700 years"

"I'm sure he's watching over you, wherever he is"

"Maybe he's closer than I ever thought"

The two scientists made eye contact. There was a silent conversation between them. If Chrome was really Byakuya's reincarnation, he didn't seem to remember anything except a few things. Senku stood up.

"C'mon science-user, let's get back with the others"

* * *

"I never thought I would hear you say the world re-incarnation" Xeno listened carefully at what Senku had to say, but it was hard to believe.

"Neither did I, but yeah, that's my theory" Senku dismissed.

"Not so silly" Xeno smiled. "I noticed similarities between them, and he did know my name. That's enough evidence for me"

"I would appreciate that this stayed between us. Don't want him to freak out over past lives." Xeno just nodded, giving an end to the conversation.

Senku debated on telling him about the third time he noticed something weird going with Chrome that let him to the conclusion of Chrome being his father's re-incarnation, but he would keep the story for later, as he saw Chrome slowly waking up from his little nap.


	2. Switch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byakuya knew this was the end for him.  
> However, he didn't expect to wake up inside a boat, in the middle of the ocean, and looking completely different.

There is a question every person has wondered about: where do we go when we die? Byakuya knew he was about to find out. The water still felt cold, the night sky filled with stars reflected on the surface slowly faded into darkness as his body slowly went numb.

It didn't hurt, it was more like having general anaesthesia. He wasn't scared, he lived a long and plentiful life. The last thing he could think of was his son, still petrified somewhere in Japan.

* * *

He didn't expect anything else to happen, but then, he started to feel his body again. He could feel his chest going up and down as he breathed, he could hear the sound of his heartbeat against his ears. His whole body felt unbalanced, just like what one would feel soon after travelling by boat.

His mind was fuzzy at first, like waking up after a terrible hangover. The first sun rays welcomed him into the afterlife, or whatever this place was. He slowly opened his eyes and did not expect what he saw.

He was in a room, alright. Sleeping in a bed. The room was made of wood, and there were some baskets containing several rocks on them in the floor. There was also a desk and some papers on them.

There wasn't much, but there was a window. Byakuya peaked into it and he only saw water. Was he inside a boat? Only one way to figure out.

He took the bedsheets away and almost screamed when he saw his body. He glanced again to the window, trying to get a glimpse of his reflection.

What greeted Byakuya was the sight of a young man, maybe in his early 20s, with brown spiky hair, brown eyes and tan-ish skin. Seemed like the kind to do a healthy amount of exercise and from a mixed ethnicity.

Byakuya moved and the reflection moved with him. Somehow, he was inside someone else's body. No, that wasn’t it. Byakuya knew exactly what was going on: he had been reincarnated. He had been in this situation before because he only had one goal: to be reunited with his son, even if it was in another life. So generation after generation, he had been re-incarnating into one of his descendants.

But this time was different because he was in control.

He made his way to the desk. The papers were filled with familiar things: math problems, chemistry formulas, Japanese kanji... One name stood up in all of them, written in Japanese: ' _CHROME_ '. So that was his name now… not bad, he liked it. A name suited for a lover of science.

He wondered more and found a sheet of paper with several names written on it, but a single name stood up to him. The second name that is written on this paper sheet... _'ISHIGAMI SENKU_ '

His eyes lighted up. Somehow, this kid knew his son's name. Did his son wake up? Was he inside this boat? That had to be it, right? Could he finally be reunited with his son again?

He made his way outside of the room and found a hallway. If this really was a boat, he needed to find the upper deck. When he reached it, a few doubts were cleared away:

He was indeed inside a boat, travelling through the ocean. It was early morning, with no sight of clouds, wind roaring through his body. It was nice being able to feel again.

"Good morning" a voice suddenly spoke, making him jump. In front of him was a young girl, mixed ethnicity, with long blonde hair pulled in a ponytail with a rope, blue eyes and athletic build. She was wearing a blue dress that ended in spikes, and a shiny shield was attached to her back.

"Morning" when he spoke, his voice wasn't his own. Of course, it wasn’t, but it was weird hearing someone else's voice when he spoke out loud.

"Pff" the girl smirked "bad hair day? Or trying a new style?"

Byakuya didn't know how to respond. Ok, so this girl knew his reincarnation.

The blonde girl didn't look modern. Then..." oh" he let out. She had to be another of his descendants since she looked a lot like Lillian.

"Oh, what?" The girl inquired as she smiled warmly.

"Um...weird question, but...what day is it?"

The girl looked at him confused like he just asked something weird. "Hmmm, it's been 20 days since we left the village. 10 more to go, according to Senku. Are you still half asleep?"

Not what Byakuya wanted, he cursed himself for not keeping track of how many generations, how many re-incarnations he had already gone through. Is not like he remembered any of it, only some glimpses remained.

"True! Guess I'm still half asleep after all" Byakuya laughed. He was glad to hear his laugh didn't change that much, it almost sounded identical to his old one.

"I'm sure breakfast will wake you up. C'mon, let's get some food" the girl started to walk to a door, and then turned around to him.

"Are you coming?"

"Yeah" if Byakuya wanted more answers, he was going to get them over breakfast.

Byakuya entered the dining hall. He wasn't surprised when he saw more people, but he was when he saw some of them had awful black scars on their bodies, and others lacked them. He immediately saw the pattern when he recognized tree familiar faces sitting in the table: Gen Asagiri, Taiju and Yuzuriha. The tree of them had scars.

He immediately connected the dots: de-petrified people had scars on their bodies and people who didn't were the legacy his partners and himself left behind. By the looks of the old man and the little kid that sat in the table, it had been at least 120 years since he left this world, 4 or 5 generations. But his mind and heart said it had been longer, much longer.

"Something's wrong? You are spacing out" the unknown voice of a black-haired boy with green eyes spoke. He was wearing glasses. Wait- glasses?

"You are wearing glasses!"

The black-haired boy looked to the blonde guy on his left and blinked.

"Uuum, Chrome, are you ok? Or did you suddenly have a science revelation?" The black-haired guy asked.

Byakuya's face went red. He had to calm down if he wanted to avoid hours worth of interrogation about why _Chrome_ was acting so weirdly. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by another voice.

"Yesterday we did all sort of fun experiments with light and I threw the idea of making a screen. We could use small crystals to make it. You get one billion points for the idea, Chrome!"

Byakuya could recognize that voice even if ten billion years had passed. He turned around and there he was: wearing a robe with Einstein's formula painted in with blood, spiky leek hair and red eyes. His pride, his son...Senku.

"Wait, screens? Like an actual TV screen?" Gen Asagiri spoke up. Byakuya noticed that half of Gen's black hair was white and wondered if it was another result of de-petrification.

"Precisely" Senku smiled. "Get excited! We could make video-cameras with this!"

"And a legit GPS screen" A boy with a yellow hat replied.

Byakuya couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing. Senku making group projects? Senku working with more people? The only person Senku seemed to get along with was Taiju, but now, it seemed like his son made lots of friends. He was so proud of him.

"Why are you crying now?" The blonde girl asked.

"Nothing! It's just that...science is amazing!" Byakuya answered wiping his eyes. When did he start crying? Senku sat down at the table, right next to him.

"Everyone's here, right? Let's get eating, then" Senku said before reaching out for a toast.

Suddenly, the ambient changed. People started talking to each other, enjoying their breakfast. It seemed like a family meeting. Along with the conversations, he finally connected the names on the list he found earlier with the people that sat around the table: Kohaku, Ginro, Kinro, Suika, Kaseki, Ryusui, Uyko... That was gonna make his little switch-a-roo much easier.

During the meal, he couldn't resist but to glare at his son a few times. Seeing Senku talking to people and being social filled his heart with joy. It barely happened back in the old world, but it seemed like a few things had changed over time.

Senku noticed how Chrome was looking at him more than usual. Kohaku had mentioned he had been acting kind of weird since he woke up that same morning, but it was like Chrome was someone else entirely. The thought just kept crossing Senku's mind, like he wanted to convince himself over the silly little theory he had about Chrome and his father. He made a fast calculation, but today's date didn't match anything important. Or maybe, it did.

Maybe, today was his father's death anniversary. If that were true, and somehow, he got control over Chrome's body today...there was only one way to find out. He called François and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and went to the kitchen. A little bit later, François came in with trays of cups. They were white and red, topped by cinnamon, mint, and a small cookie with chocolate bits.

"What's this, dear Senku?" Gen asked.

"Well, since everyone worked so hard lately, I thought I could treat you to my favourite dessert. It is basically vanilla strawberry pudding, with a few extras. It's been a while since I had one of these bad boys. Try it, it will surprise you!" Senku smiled and took a bite of his pudding. "Yep, you nailed it," he concluded.

Senku watched carefully as _Chrome_ stared at his portion with surprise, shock and nostalgia. Exactly the reaction Senku was expecting. _Chrome_ took the first bite of his pudding. Senku saw as _Chrome_ closed his eyes and let a wave of nostalgia rush over his body. He let some tears down, quickly turning into a silent cry.

"...extra sugar and a cookie on top" _Chrome_ muttered "Just like..." He quickly catches himself and cuts himself out.

"Just like my father used to do it. He would make these to cheer me up, to celebrate, or at any special occasion he got. Once, I tried to cook one for my father, but I messed up a little bit" Senku snorts at the memory.

"A little bit?!" _Chrome_ jumped. "You put too much sugar in the pudding, you burned the cookies, and the mess you made in the kitchen took hours to clean!"

"Still, you ate it whole" Senku added.

"And I had a stomachache for 3 entire days!" _Chrome_ said in a joyful tone, taking another bite of the dessert. Senku giggled. Everyone else was confused, and some of them giggled or let out a little laugh. It was Gen that made the question everyone else in the room had in mind.

"Dear Senku, when was the last time someone made this dessert?"

"Not counting this one? Man, last time...it was before the petrification, the day my dad left for JAXA. That was the last time I saw him in person...not counting the rocket launching live stream, of course."

"When did this accident happen?"

Senku laughed at Gen's question.

"When I was around 13." Senku stared at _Chrome_ and saw as the ex-sorcerer's face went pale. He got him. He was out.

"You're not Chrome, are you?"

**_Shit._ **

This wasn't good, this wasn't any good. Senku's question still lingered in the air: "You're not Chrome, are you?".

How was he gonna explain? The whole pudding accident happened between Senku and his father, there is no way Chrome could know about it. Still, how was Byakuya supposed to explain his situation?

"Can we...talk? Just the two of us?" He knew he messed up. If he could rewind time, he would, but alas, he couldn't. He thought he could control the situation, but oh boy, how wrong he was. How was he going to fix this? Was there any way to fix this?

Senku stayed silent as he saw the panic in _Chrome's_ face. Byakuya knew that look, and he knew he was in deep trouble. Senku stood up, made a following-me motion with his hand to _Chrome_ and exited the dining room. Byakuya gulped and followed.

The duo made their way into the lab, and Senku took a seat. He sighed and started to laugh.

"Really? If you wanted to last the whole day playing sneaky little impostor with everyone, including me, you failed miserably. You were never a good liar, were you, Byakuya?"

Byakuya laughed and sat down in front of Senku.

"Sooner or later, everyone was gonna notice, right?" Byakuya looked at his son "I guess you noticed since the beginning"

"Yep. But I want to know what is happening. Chrome is really similar to you, and he seems to have some memories of the old world, rather...some of your memories, but now you are actually here. You woke up as himself, so...what is going on, dad?"

"...What do you think it is?"

"Reincarnation" Senku theorised.

"Correct! Ten billion points for you, Senku” Byakuya smiled “That would explain the memory leaks, and reincarnations tend to be similar between each other, after all, it is the same soul getting a new body." Byakuya explained.

"Do you know where Chrome is? You don't remember being him, so where did his memories go?"

Byakuya thought of it for a minute. "We switched?"

"Switched?"

"What if it's similar to a dissociative disorder? Chrome and Byakuya are their own entities with their own memories, but both of them share one body. Think of it as a tape with side A and B. Side A has Byakuya's life recorded, and side B has Chrome's memories recorded. Sometimes, scenes from side A leak over side B, causing a memory leak. For some reason, today our brain is playing side A instead of B. That's why I don't remember being Chrome, or why Chrome doesn't remember being me. I won't be surprised if Chrome doesn't remember any of this."

The room fell in silence. Senku sighed again, then looked again at...the person in front of him. It wasn't his father, but it wasn't Chrome either.

"So basically you're a copy of my father's memories inside Chrome's brain. That copy is usually the brain's subconscious so it can't access those memories until some sort of trigger is met. Usually, the trigger only gets access to a part of the copied memories, but today it was strong enough to make them come back completely. Of course, in order to protect itself, your brain placed Chrome's memories in its subconscious. Chrome won't remember any of this, since he can't make new memories while he is in that state"

"So he's sleeping while I'm here" Byakuya placed a hand over his heart "I would gladly bring Chrome back, but I don't know how any of this works"

The two scientists began to wonder.

"Well, you said that you woke up this morning as Chrome, right? Maybe that's the trigger. If the body goes to sleep again, it will bring Chrome back. Or at least, that's the most reasonable theory."

Byakuya hummed. "That's a good hypothesis, I'll give it a try."

Senku nodded

"But first, I have to ask you for a favour," Byakuya said with seriousness. "Can I...Can I have a proper goodbye with you?" He looked at Senku, still serious. "This could be the first and last time I'm in control, so... can you pretend you are in front of your father, at least until Chrome is back?"

Senku sighted. Facing the truth wasn't easy. His best friend was his father's re-incarnation, and now, somehow, his father took control over his bestie's body. Senku took a deep breath closing his eyes, recollected himself, and opened them again.

"Fine."

"Can you convince everyone this morning didn't happen?"

"Yeah, I can do that"

"Don't tell Chrome anything about this"

"Not like he would **ever** believe me. Not will anyone else, so don't worry, this is between us"

"Right."

"Right"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Byakuya approached Senku.

"I know you don't like hugs, but...can I have one last hug from my son?"

Senku just opened his arms without saying anything. Byakuya hugged Senku carefully and couldn't avoid the overwhelming feelings of sadness, nostalgia and fear. He was gonna lose his son again, and this time, it could be forever. He tightened his grasp around Senku. He started crying, he tried to keep it quiet at first, but then he let it all out and started to cry loudly.

Senku was heartbroken by the sound. He has only seen his father crying a few times, and hearing the same sound coming out of Chrome hurt. He had never seen Chrome (or his own father) crying like that, so it hurt even more. Senku couldn't resist it any longer and hugged back his father.

Senku didn't like to show emotions, but for now, just this instant, he was going to let them go. First, some tears began to fall out, the next moment, he was sobbing quietly in his father's shoulder. He didn't remember the last time he cried, but it felt horrible. The tie on his neck, the tears obscuring his vision, his constant running nose... He hated it. He hated being so vulnerable, he hated being perceived as weak, he hated when he opened up emotionally to people because once he did, there was no way to go back.

Even if Senku knew his father was in control of Chrome's body, he still felt he was opening emotionally to Chrome, and that made the situation ten times worse. Senku wanted it to be over, but also he wanted to let his emotions take over a little longer. Maybe he could let them go until his father went away once more.

"I love you, son. I'm sorry for not being there for you. I'm glad I get to help you in this life. I'm so proud of you, my son..." Byakuya could barely talk, but he would do anything to let Senku know his feelings.

"Heh...thank you for everything, father. I...I love you too, dad. More than anything in this world...I love you." Senku tightened his grasp. "I love you..."

It was the first time Byakuya heard those words coming out of Senku's mouth. It was a bittersweet feeling. Byakuya smiled as he started to feel like he was going to fall asleep for a really long time.

"Shh...it's ok, son. I know. I have always had."

Byakuya comforted his son, running his fingers along with Senku's hair. That always calmed both of them down.

"Besides, I'm not going anywhere, my memories will always be here, sleeping inside Chrome's brain. I'm just gonna take a really long nap"

Byakuya heard as Senku let out a giggle.

"I love you, son" Byakuya felt tired. Part of him didn't want to go, but he knew he had to let his son go. He had to let Chrome live his life.

"Me too, dad...goodbye" Senku was happy he could finally say goodbye to his father, and he was relieved to know that his father knew how much his son loved him.

"...goodbye" Byakuya closed his eyes and the room fell silent for a moment. Senku felt the weight of Chrome's body increasing as he felt unconscious.

* * *

"...so all of that happened...." Xeno took a sip of his cola.

"Yep. He woke up in the afternoon, light-headed, and didn't remember anything. Took him until the next day to fully recover. I told everyone Chrome was feeling bad because he inhaled some chemicals on the experiment we did the previous night and explained that what happened in the morning was a side effect of that. Gen didn't believe it, so I told him the truth." Senku cracked his neck, stretching.

"So he also knows?"

"Yep, he does. Some others also were suspicious at first, but when I requested to not question it any further, they let it go"

"Must have been one heck of a morning" Xeno chuckled.

"It was" Senku affirmed. "For all of us," he added.

* * *

_"Take care of him for me, will you?"_

With an unknown voice echoing trough his mind, Chrome woke up. It was weird because, for a second, he swore he knew that voice from somewhere. Maybe he had heard it in a certain glass record. For him, that voice felt familiar, like it had belonged to himself in a previous life.


End file.
